Secret Diamond Club – a dating website for wealthy men and beautiful women –
caused a scandal when it launched in Denmark, and now it’s after a slice of
the UK market. Theo Merz speaks to its creator

Are you a man who thinks it’s reasonable to spend £60,000 on the off-chance you might get a date, or a woman who doesn't mind her looks being rated by a panel of independent experts? If so, Secret Diamond Club– a dating website aimed at pairing wealthy males with attractive females – may be for you.

The site, which originates from Denmark, launched in the UK this week. To enter its ‘elite’ club, women must submit three photos of themselves – one face, one full body, one of their choice – and then wait to hear if they are beautiful enough to be accepted. Of the ones who pass, the most attractive pay the least for their membership, while those judged the least attractive pay the most (up to the £30 a year).

Men pay between £6,000 a year for a local membership and £60,000 a year for a global one and remain anonymous until they decide to make contact with a female member.

When an article for a Danish website brought Secret Diamond Club to the public’s attention there three years ago, it was more shared and commented on than the same day’s news that the country’s Crown Princess had given birth to twins. Gus Terkelsen, the entrepreneur behind the matchmaking scheme, admits few of those comments were positive.

Gus Terkelsen

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“Some people called it a prostitution ring, but that’s not true,” the 33-year-old says over a phone call from Copenhagen. “Others took a feminist approach, saying it was degrading towards women, that it supports the notion women are worth nothing apart from their looks.”

Well, doesn’t it? “Some people don’t like getting the truth told too obviously. Women will always look for wealthy partners, and the most attractive will get them. It comes from the Stone Age and survival of the fittest, where if women were not able to mate with successful men they would not have children and they would die.

“Obviously we don’t live in that kind of society now, but millions of years of evolution have pushed women into being that way – even if they’re not aware of it.”

With the high concentration of wealthy men in London, Gus explains the UK was the next logical step for the club before expansion into Eastern Europe and Asia, and development of its existing presence in America.

As for British women, “There’s nothing particularly special about them. Just as women anywhere in the world, they are interested in meeting men of success and wealth. It’s how the female mind works – a genetic thing that goes beyond cultures.”

One thing that isn’t immediately obvious froma video promoting the siteto “prestigious entrepreneurs and… the most beautiful women in the world” is why these financial and aesthetic alphas need to go through the expense or potential humiliation of using a site like this (though apparently a couple of thousand people have already done so in Denmark).

Gus describes it as a time-saver or “convenience thing.” His approach to matchmaking also makes a bit more sense when you understand this dating site owner’s approach to love: “I believe that love is a trading relationship. It’s the exchange of emotional security, finance or sex; a conditional relationship in which I give you something and I get something in return.”

And has he met anyone through Secret Diamond Club willing to complete this transaction with him?